The Corner House Girls' Odd Find / Where they made it, and What the Strange Discovery led to

ld Corner House in Milton had been removed by Uncle Rufus, and in the dusk of the

far corner and not yet festooned. The girls were all busy bringing tinsel and glittering balls and cheery red bells and strings

gas-log fire on the hearth-the dining room was gloomy even at mid-afternoon. Wheneve

Corner House girl experienced, for she said to Tess,

-but I should think he'd be afraid of-of rats or things. I don't

But where would he hitch his reindeer? You know

Dot. "There's a perfectly good hitching

Santa Claus would come to the side door and knock like the old clo's man? You are

ed Dot, reflectively, "do you

s time Sammy Pinkney, almost their next-door neighbor, was very much in Tess

says he doesn't believe there i

reflection, she added: "Well, when you come to think of

most groaned t

really and truly' believe in Santa, there isn't any-for us! And he only comes to

ere is one in Blachstein & Mapes', where Ruth trades; and another in Mi

s of Santa Claus. They're men dressed up. Why! little boys have Santa C

h your name in it? And if you don't get too many black marks through the year do you get presents? And if you do

Tess Kenway's abounding fait

eated the smallest

I just do. It's like fairies and elfs. We want to believe in

t, stoutly, "she's j

d so's Santa Claus. And-and when we stop believing

rom the kitchen with a he

d. We haven't near enough popcorn strung. I believe Neale O'Neil at

s 'cause he's grownin

g' after all he gobbled down last night. And I b

for the little girls. Both brought their sewing boxes and squatted down on the

rner House girl seemed still to be fussing with her thread and needle, her

edle's asleep, Tess,

ed the other.

culated Dot. "Anyway, I

girl swooped down on the floor and put her

," said the newcomer. "Won't the ey

s Tess often said, awfully good! Ruth had a smile that illuminated her rather plain face and won he

ir real mother had died, leaving Agnes and Tess and Dot, to say nothing of Aunt Sara

fly-away in time) for she had beautiful light hair, a rosy complexion, and large blue ey

y-her hair wavy and silky, her little limbs round, her

egan to trim the tree, commencing at the very top. Nestling among th

y has bells," said Agnes, from the step-ladd

rom the floor. "But I should be afraid, if I were his mother, t

" chuckled Agnes. "Don't believe

the lady that lives next to Uncle Rufus' Petunia. She could

Dot," laughed Ruth. "Fasten those li

the second, and

h candles, and not have the gas at all," Ruth sa

"And you've got such a lot of those ni

e not enough

" proposed Tess, who favored that busy emporium,

ey look beside those lovely old silver ones of Uncle Peter Stower'

slowly and a grizzled, kinky head, with a shiny,

done comin' fo' de wash, an' I got t' collect togeddah all I kin fin' dis week. Dat fool brack woman," Uncle Rufus added with disgust, "won't do but dis

birthday that everybody ought to celebrate. And I

ll her children

ne-Jones Whistler and Louise Annette," Dot began to int

er hands over her ears and sitting

resents, all de rich w'ite folks would hab 'em an' de po' nigger fo

dry bag, Unc' Rufus," sa

spect I know where it i

some ob yo' chi

on't give me much 'couragement about her. Her lungs are weak-they have been,

rner House girls' chief factotum, who was a tall, thin, brown old negr

h weak lungs to sleep out of doors. So Neale's built her a sleeping porch outside one of the windows in our bedroom-Tess' and mine-and-and I used your

ed Agnes, having taken her hands

the bag without permissi

Uncle Peter was alive he sartain sho' would ha' laffed hisself up out'n hes sick-bed. Ma soul an' body! W'y didn't he kno

you know if there are any more candlesticks around the house? Nice, heavy on

? I 'spect dere is,"

where?" Ruth

dey is up in de attic," he s

uddenly. "Over in that corner of the

y part of the garret?" aske

d in when he was the attic

"I do wish you'd get you

re," Agnes went on to explain to Ruth. "They can b

h, cheerfully. "Let's

o go!" cried

go, sister?"

kiddies," said Agnes, hop

rs to the huge garret, Dot leaving her "sleep

called the Stower homestead on the corner of Willow S

old-fashioned, walnut, haircloth furniture. A gallery ran all around the stair-well, off which opened the guest chambers of the

cotch housekeeper, and Linda, the Finnish girl. Uncle Rufus was stowed away in the other ell, in a little room he had occupied for almost twenty-s

and breadth of the main portion of the house. This was their playroom on rainy days, and a sto

forms hung from the low rafters. On a broken-legged chest of drawers, held up b

volume, moth-eaten and shabby, from which Ruth had just removed two

ck together. There seemed to be some kind of

said Ruth, "and help me carry these heav

t about lug this old book. I want to look at it. I shouldn't wonder if

d of the procession with the big book, as the four girls started down stairs again. "Are-are

t means to tell these kids about the Paleozoic age and 'sich,' Ruthie! Yes, child. Ma

k out upon her small lap. She had heard just enough about

the back were engravings on green paper, stuck into the old book. The gr

money-that's all it is. Just like the money Mr. Howbridge gives Ruth ev

t then. Agnes tossed her "find" into a corner until some more convenient occasion for looking at it. She and Ruth got the metal cl

nds and astonished looks, the four listened for

ere was a muffled shout, then a scratching and a scra

, in crescendo. "Santa Cla

ng up to run to the open fireplace, "he's miss